Skiing simulator

ABSTRACT

A downhill skiing simulator for teaching and practicing skiing maneuvers which includes ski structural means, a ski pole simulating means and a frame to which they are secured. The ski structural means includes a turntable which is hydraulically rotatable back-and-forth in a horizontal plane and includes a rocker pivotal about a horizontal axis and which is also hydraulically actuated. The pivotal rocker carries a carriage to which is attached a ski mounting means. The carriage slides by gravity from one end of the rocker to the other, as the rocker and turntable are pivoted by motive means, while the skier grasps handles of the ski pole simulating means and performs various maneuvers.

United States Patent [191 Rice [ SKIING SIMULATOR [76] Inventor: Walton M. Rice, 608 Godshall Road, Franconia, Pa. 18924 [22] Filed: July 12, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 488,060

Related [1.5. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 313,198, Dec. 7,

1972, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 272/57 B [51] Int. Cl. A63B 69/18 [58] Field of Search 272/57 B, 56.5 SS;

35/29 R, 12 R, 12 E, 12 P; 248/371 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,195,889 7/1965 Hall 272/56.5 SS

3,207,510 9/1965 Gibson 272/57 B 3,408,067 10/1968 Armstrong 272/57 B 3,731,919 5/1963 Schurch .t 272/57 B Primary Examiner-Richard J Apley Assistant ExaminerJoseph R. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or FirmDenny & Patane ABSTRACT A downhill skiing simulator for teaching and practicing skiing maneuvers which includes ski structural means, a ski pole simulating means and a frame to which they are secured. The ski structural means includes a turntable which is hydraulically rotatable back-and-forth in a horizontal plane and includes a rocker pivotal about a horizontal axis and which is also hydraulically actuated. The pivotal rocker carries a carriage to which is attached a ski mounting means. The carriage slides by gravity from one end of the rocker to the other, as the rocker and turntable are pivoted by motive means, while the skier grasps handles of the ski pole simulating means and performs various maneuvers.

61 Claims, 41 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 I Sheetlof20 3,912,260

Sheet 2 of 20 3,912,260

U.S. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975- Sheet 5 of 20 3,912,260

U.S. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 6 of 20 3,912,260

US. Patent 0.14,1975 Sheet 7 of 20 3,912,260

U.S. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 8 of 20 3,912,260

Patent 0.14,1975 Sheet9of 20 3,912,260

FIG. /5

U.S. Patent 0st. 14, 1975 Sheet 110120 3,912,260

Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 12 0f 20 US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 13 of 20 3,912,260

J FIG. 25

FIG. 33 /74A 34 FIG. 34

US. Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheet 14 of 20 3,912,260 

1. A skiing simulating apparatus comprising a pair of skis, and a ski structural means defining first, second, third and fourth axes for moving said pair of skis up and down along said first axis whose inclination may be alternated about said second axis from one position to another and simultaneously pivoted back and forth about said third axis alternately from one position to another while said skis are simultaneously pivoted about said fourth axis while the latter is being transported along said first axis and back and forth about said second axis.
 2. The combination recited in claim 1 and further including a ski pole simulating means.
 3. The combination recited in claim 2 and further including a frame, a turntable pivotal in a horizontal plane abOut said third axis and suitably secured to said frame, a rocker pivotal about said second axis and supported by and rotatable with said turntable, a carriage movable along said rocker and supported by and rotatable with said rocker, and ski mounting means carried by said carriage.
 4. The combination recited in claim 3 and further including motive means for actuating said ski structural means.
 5. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein said frame includes a base, pivotal means securing said turntable to said base, roller means between said turntable and said base, said turntable including upstanding legs, a shaft carried by said legs and connecting said rocker to said turntable, said rocker including a rod extending along the length of said rocker, and said carriage being secured to said rod and movable along said rod.
 6. The combination recited in claim 5 and further including damping means pivotally connected between said carriage and said turntable to dampen the motion of said carriage near the end of its travel from one extremity of the rocker to the other extremity.
 7. The combination recited in claim 5 wherein said ski mounting means includes a swivel joint device mounted upon said carriage and pivotal in an inclined plane.
 8. The combination recited in claim 7 wherein said ski mounting means further includes left and right linkage means and left and right skis pivotally connected to said left and right linkage means, respectively.
 9. The combination recited in claim 8 wherein each linkage means includes a first link pivotally supported by said swivel joint device and extending forwardly thereof, a second link pivotally supported by the forward portion of said first link and extending forwardly thereof, and a third link pivotally supported by the forward portion of said second link and to which one of the skis is pivotally supported.
 10. The combination recited in claim 9 and further including first stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said swivel joint device relative to said rocker, and each linkage means includes second stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said first link relative to said swivel joint device, third stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said second link relative to said first link, fourth stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said third link relative to said second link, and fifth stop means for limiting pivotal movement of each ski.
 11. The combination recited in claim 10 wherein said ski pole simulating means comprises pivot means secured to said frame above the skier, a generally horizontal shaft connected at its rear end to said pivot means, a tube carried by said horizontal shaft and movable back and forth therealong, and a linkage assembly secured to and depending from said tube, said linkage assembly including a U-shaped rod extending behind the skier, and handles for the skier to grasp.
 12. The combination recited in claim 11 wherein a ball joint connects said linkage assembly to said tube, said linkage assembly includes a rod connected to said ball joint, and depending links pivotally connecting opposite ends of said rod to opposite sides of said U-shaped rod extending behind the skier.
 13. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein said means for actuating said ski structural means comprises an hydraulic-electrical apparatus including a first hydraulic cylinder for pivoting said turntable and a second hydraulic cylinder for pivoting said rocker, first linkage means interconnecting said first hydraulic cylinder and said turntable, second linkage means interconnecting said second hydraulic cylinder and said rocker, and electrical means for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid to said cylinder.
 14. The combination recited in claim 4 and further including control means for actuating said turntable and said rocker indiVidually or jointly.
 15. The combination recited in claim 14 and further including program means for cycling said turntable and said rocker through a predetermined cycle.
 16. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein said ski mounting means includes two sets of complex linkages each supporting one of said skis for pivotal movement of said skis relative to said carriage and relative to each other.
 17. The combination recited in claim 4 and further including damping means connected to said carriage for dampening the motion of said carriage near the end of its travel.
 18. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein said means includes hydraulic-electrical apparatus.
 19. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein each of said skis is independently capable of arcuate, angular displacement from an equilibrium position, said arcuate displacement being about said fourth axis.
 20. The structure recited in claim 1 and further including safety means for preventing the fall of a person mounted upon said skis.
 21. A skiing simulating apparatus comprising a pair of skis, a ski structural means for supporting said skis, a ski pole simulating means, and a frame interconnecting said ski structural means and said ski pole simulating means, and motor means for actuating said ski structural means, said ski structural means including ski mounting means for said skis, said ski mounting means being movable up and down by the skier as said ski mounting means is pivoted back and forth about a horizontal axis by said motor means.
 22. The structure recited in claim 21 wherein said ski mounting means is pivoted by said motor means back and forth about a vertical axis in addition to being pivoted back and forth about a horizontal axis.
 23. The structure recited in claim 21 wherein said ski mounting means is also rotatable back and forth about a vertical axis.
 24. The structure recited in claim 21 and further including safety means for preventing the fall of a person mounted upon said skis.
 25. A ski simulating apparatus comprising a rocker pivotal about a horizontal axis and movable back and forth in a horizontal plane, a carriage movable along said rocker and supported by and rotatable with said rocker, ski mounting means carried by said carriage, said ski mounting means including left and right linkage means and left and right skis pivotally connected to said left and right linkage means, respectively, a canted swivel joint device pivotally carrying and connecting said left and right linkage means to said carriage, said left and right linkage means extending cantileverlike from said canted swivel joint, whereby said left and right linkage means may pivot through a variable angle with respect to the plane of said rocker as said carriage moves along said rocker.
 26. The combination recited in claim 25 wherein said carriage being planar, said swivel joint device is canted to said carriage at an angle of less than 90*, each linkage means comprises a first link pivotally supported on a vertical shaft carried by said swivel joint device and extending forwardly and downwardly thereof, a second link pivotally supported on a vertical shaft carried by the forward portion of said first link and extending forwardly and downwardly thereof, and a third link pivotally having a lower portion supported on a vertical shaft carried by the forward portion of said second link and an upper portion to which one of the skis is pivotally supported, the upper portion of said third link is being substantially horizontal and said lower portion being inclined backwardly to jointly define an angle, to suit, generally between 90* and 180*, whereby the weight of the skier is behind the pivotal connection between second and third links, but near the forward portion of each linkage means.
 27. The combination reCited in claim 26 and further including first stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said swivel joint device relative to said carriage, and each linkage means includes second stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said first link relative to said swivel joint device, third stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said second link relative to said first link, fourth stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said third link relative to said second link, and fifth stop means for limiting pivotal movement of each ski.
 28. The combination is an exerciser or the like comprising a turntable pivotal back and forth, in a horizontal plane, between two positions, a rocker pivotal back and forth, about a horizontal axis, between two positions, said rocker being secured to said turntable, person supporting means extending transverse to said rocker and movable along said rocker from one end thereof to the other and back, said person supporting means including an inclined swivel mount for pivotally securing said person supporting means to said rocker, and motive means for actuating said turntable and said rocker, whereby as said turntable and said rocker are actuated, said person supporting means is repeatedly lifted and then permitted to descend by gravity along said rocker while simultaneously pivoting relative to said rocker on said inclined swivel mount and then lifted again and then again permitted to descend, during which time the forward portion of the person supporting means repeatedly moves through a general figure eight trajectory.
 29. In combination, a pair of supports for a person, a rocker movable up and down about a horizontal axis, motor means for actuating said rocker, cantilever linkage means to which said supports are secured and actuatable by a person mounted upon said supports, inclined swivel mount means carried by said rocker and movable back and forth along said rocker, said cantilever linkage means being pivotally carried by said inclined swivel mount means, whereby said supports may be raised and lowered relative to each other as said supports are pivoted about said inclined swivel mount means.
 30. In combination, a pair of foot supports, a swivel joint pendulum-like device supporting said foot supports including a single forwardly inclined shaft, said swivel joint pendulum-like device being pivotal about said single forwardly inclined shaft, rocker means to pivot said swivel joint pendulum-like device about a horizontal axis, whereby, as said rocker means is pivoted, the axis of said shaft changes with respect to a horizontal plane through said horizontal axis.
 31. The structure recited in claim 30 and further including linkage means carrying said foot supports and depending from said shaft on opposite sides thereof and toward the front of said apparatus, carriage means for transporting said swivel joint pendulum-like device, and motive means for pivoting said rocker up-and-down and back-and-forth.
 32. The structure recited in claim 30 wherein said rocker means is also rotatable back and forth about a vertical axis.
 33. The combination comprising a pair of foot supports, and a foot support structural means for simultaneously moving said pair of foot supports up and down along the length of a first axis whose inclination may be alternated about a second axis from one position to another and simultaneously pivoted back and forth about a third axis alternately from one position to another.
 34. The combination recited in claim 33 wherein said pair of foot supports are simultaneously pivotal about a fourth axis while the latter is transported along the first axis and pivoted about the second axis.
 35. The combination recited in claim 34 and further including a hand grasping means.
 36. A skiing simulating apparatus comprising a pair of skis, and a ski structural means deFining first, second and third axes for moving said pair of skis along said first axis whose inclination may be alternated up and down about said second axis while simultaneously said pair of skis are pivotal about said third axis, and said third axis being transported along said first axis and pivoted about said second axis.
 37. The structure recited in claim 36 and further including safety means for preventing the fall of a person mounted upon said skis.
 38. A ski simulating apparatus comprising a rocker movable up and down, a carriage movable along said rocker, ski mounting means carried by said carriage, said ski mounting means including left and right linkage means and left and right skis pivotally connected to said left and right linkage means, respectively, a canted swivel joint device pivotally carrying and connecting said left and right linkage means to said carriage, said left and right linkage means extending cantileverlike from said canted swivel joint, whereby said left and right linkage means may pivot through a variable angle with respect to the plane of said rocker as said carriage moves along said rocker.
 39. The combination in an exerciser or the like comprising a rocker movable up and down between two positions, person supporting means extending transverse to said rocker and movable along said rocker from one end thereof to the other and back, said person supporting means including an inclined swivel mount for pivotally securing said person supporting means to said rocker, and motor means for actuating said rocker, whereby as said rocker is actuated, said person supporting means is repeatedly lifted and then permitted to descend by gravity along said rocker while simultaneously pivoting relative to said rocker on said inclined swivel mount and then lifted again and then again permitted to descend, during which time the forward portion of the person supporting means repeatedly moves through various ski simulating modes.
 40. A skiing simulating apparatus comprising a pair of skis, a carriage supporting said skis, a turntable supporting said carriage, said carriage being movable along said turntable, means for supporting said turntable in a first plane inclined relative to a horizontal plane, and motive means for pivoting said turntable up and down in said first plane about an axis at about a right angle to said first plane, said motive means being energized from a source external to said skier, whereby repeated simulation of a ski lift and a simulated descent down a snow slope may take place.
 41. The combination recited in claim 40 and further including a ski pole simulating means.
 42. The combination recited in claim 41 wherein said ski pole simulating means includes a safety means for preventing the fall of a person mounted upon said skis.
 43. The combination recited in claim 42 and further including sensing means responsive to the position of said turntable and carriage for automatically and alternately elevating and lowering opposite end portions of said turntable.
 44. The combination recited in claim 43 wherein said motive means includes an hydraulic motor.
 45. The combination recited in claim 40 and further including a swivel joint device pivotally connected to said carriage, and linkage means pivotally connected to said swivel joint device and supporting said skis, said linkage means being connected to said swivel joint device on opposite sides of the pivotal connection between said swivel joint device and said carriage.
 46. The combination recited in claim 45 wherein said linkage means includes a plurality of links pivotally connected to each other, and said linkage means includes damping means to restrain movement of said links relative to each other.
 47. The combination recited in claim 40 and further including control means to regulate said motive means, said control means including predetermined prOgram means.
 48. A skiing simulating apparatus comprising a pair of skis, a carriage supporting said skis, a rocker supporting said carriage, said carriage being movable along said rocker, first means for supporting said rocker, second means for alternately elevating and lowering said rocker, said second means including motive means energized from a source external to said skier, and sensing means for controlling the elevating and lowering of said rocker and the movement of said carriage, whereby repeated simulation of a ski lift and a simulated descent down a snow slope may automatically take place.
 49. The combination recited in claim 48 wherein opposite end portions of said rocker are alternately elevated and lowered.
 50. The combination recited in claim 48 wherein said sensing means comprises limit switches actuated by said rocker and said carriage.
 51. The combination recited in claim 48 wherein said motive means includes an hydraulic motor and fluid pressurizing means to supply pressurized fluid to said hydraulic motor.
 52. The combination recited in claim 51 and further including solenoid valves electrically connected to said limit switches and hydraulically connected to said hydraulic motor so as to cause rotation of said hydraulic motor alternately in one direction or the opposite direction.
 53. The combination recited in claim 48 and further including a swivel mount means pivotally connected to said carriage, and linkage means supporting said skis and pivotally connected to said swivel mount on opposite sides of the axis about which said swivel mount is pivotally connected to said carriage.
 54. The combination recited in claim 53 and further including damping means to restrain the pivotal movement of said linkage means.
 55. The combination recited in claim 53 and further including a ski pole simulating means supported by said carriage, and gear means also supported by said carriage interconnecting said swivel mount means and said ski pole simulating means.
 56. The combination recited in claim 55 wherein said ski pole simulating means includes a generally horizontally disposed annularlike member and handles for the skier to grasp, and said annularlike member being pivotally mounted about an axis inclined to a horizontal plane through said annular-like member.
 57. The combination recited in claim 56 and further including damping means to restrain pivotal movement of said annular-like member.
 58. The combination recited in claim 48 wherein said sensing means includes predetermined program means.
 59. A skiing simulating apparatus comprising a pair of skis, a ski structural means comprising supports for said skis, and a longitudinally extending platform having end portions and defining a simulated slope along which said skis move back and forth while said opposite end portions of said platform are alternately moved up and down, a ski pole simulating means movable up and down simultaneously with said ski structural means, frame means interconnecting said ski pole simulating means and said ski structural means, and external energy supplying means to power said ski structural means, whereby a person may simulate various skiing maneuvers as the skis move up and down and along the path of the simulated slope.
 60. Apparatus for simulating skiing or the like comprising first means having alternately elevatable and lowerable opposite end portions and defining a first axis common to said end portions, a pair of foot supports movable along said first axis of said first means from the elevated end portion to the opposite lowered end portion of said first means, second means for repeatedly and alternately elevating or lowering said opposite end portions of said first means to permit the descent by gravity of said foot supports along said first axis, and said second means including motor means for elevating or lowering said opposite end portiOns and for simultaneously pivoting back and forth said first means about a second axis, and a safety means movable with said foot supports up and down as said foot supports also move up and down.
 61. The combination recited in claim 60 and further including control means for automatically lifting said foot supports, said control means including predetermined program means for predetermining the extent of elevating or lowering of said foot supports. 